7.7 magnitude earthquake hits Russian Far East

RuthMantell

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- A 7.7 magnitude earthquake, the world's strongest in the past seven months, hit a sparsely populated area of the Russian Far East early Friday afternoon, according to media reports, U.S. and Japanese government agencies.

There were reports of damage in some Pacific region villages, and some injuries, according to the Associated Press.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the earthquake posed no tsunami threat to Japan. These also was no tsunami risk to Alaska, the continental United States or Canada, agencies reported.

The epicenter of the quake was in the Koryakia region near the Kamchatka Peninsula, about 3,900 miles north northeast of Moscow and about 625 miles north of Petroplavsk, according to media reports and the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake occurred about 27 miles below the surface of the earth, the agency said.

The quake is considered "major," just a notch below the most-severe "great" category , and occurred at 12:25 p.m. local time on Friday, the USGS added.

Russia's North Pacific coast is frequently hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the Associated Press reported.

Earlier this week, San Francisco commemorated the 100-year anniversary of the "Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906," a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that destroyed the city.

According to the USGS, that earthquake was the most damaging in U.S. history.

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